By way of introduction, in a broadcast TV environment (for example, but not limited to satellite, cable, digital terrestrial television (DTT) and digital subscriber line (DSL)), applications, such as interactive TV applications, are typically signaled for running on a set-top box, also known as an integrated receiver decoder. The signaling is typically performed via a table such as an application information table (AIT) in a DVB-MHP environment or any other suitable private signaling or standardized signaling mechanism. The table is typically monitored by regularly checking the table changes in the broadcast stream or the table is cached periodically. If the applications do not have signaling, the applications generally cannot run on the set-top box. When the application signaling is cached, the signaling cannot be changed until the next caching operation of the table.
The following references are believed to represent the state of the art:
US Published Patent Application No. 2004/0237098 of Watson, et al.;
European Published Patent Application No. EP0905928 of Sony Corporation; and
European Published Patent Application No. EP1251688 of CANAL+S.A.
The disclosures of all references mentioned above and throughout the present specification, as well as the disclosures of all references mentioned in those references, are hereby incorporated herein by reference.